Incentives discussion put on hold

The big discussion about whether the city should focus on new residential projects for downtown, and the incentives to go along with them, has been postponed. The plan in question, which council members have been reviewing since March, was put on the agenda for the Council meeting on Wednesday. But the item was pulled because District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal was out of town on a family emergency.

And related items at today’s meeting  the granting of incentives to three projects along the Museum Reach  also were pulled. They will be addressed at next Thursday’s meeting.

The Wednesday meeting, in particular, promised some major fireworks because Councilwoman Elisa Chan has been questioning the plan’s focus since she got her hands on it. She has publicly wondered if the plan puts too much emphasis on incentives for housing in the downtown area, essentially calling it lopsided.

So the back-and-forth between council members will have to wait for another week. Click on the links below for the back story and related documents.

To clarify, there are two plans  the Center City Strategic Framework Plan has already been approved by Council and therefore is final. The Center City Strategic Framework Implementation Plan outlines exactly how to reach the goals of the first plan. It has yet to be approved by City Council.